H&M Signs International Tennis Star Tomas Berdych

Stockholm, January 15, 2013 – Swedish low-cost fashion house H&M announced the signing of international sixth ranked tennis star Tomas Berdych today. The Czech athlete will be an ambassador for H&M both on and off-court working closely with the design team on a unique tennis collection set to debut in stores this year. Most top seeded tennis players have lucrative apparel contracts with major athletic labels such as Nike, Adidas, Lacoste and even Uniqlo. Tomas is one of the brightest talents in a globally popular sport, who also has a personal love of fashion and style, which H&M believes makes him the perfect partner.

“I am very excited about this partnership. This is H&M’s first foray into tennis and it is very flattering for me to be their first ambassador. H&M is young, cool and easy, everything I think clothing should be. I love fashion, and it’s great to now have H&M to help me develop my tennis and off-court apparel. I’m sure we will do great things together”, says Tomas Berdych.

“I am so happy to welcome Tomas to the H&M family. Tomas is such an exciting player, and he also cares greatly about style. We can’t wait to start working with him, to watch Tomas wear H&M on court, and to see our upcoming collection with him in H&M stores worldwide”, says Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of H&M.

This is first time H&M clothing will be worn on court by a top-ranking tennis player and will no doubt improve on the professional sports influence that David Beckham has started with H&M. As well as playing in H&M, Tomas will also be an ambassador for H&M off the court, wearing his pick from H&M’s menswear collections.

Twenty seven year-old Tomas Berdych is one of the most-watched players on the professional tennis circuit. Currently ranked 6th in the world, his biggest achievement so far has been reaching the finals at Wimbledon in 2010, beating Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the process and he was also pivotal in the Czech Republic`s Davis Cup victory in 2012. A great role model, Tomas is already one of the biggest stars of a sport growing in international popularity, both in terms of spectators and also those playing the game in their own leisure time. The growth reflects that of H&M, a growing global company which continues to open stores in new markets worldwide.